Bag closing machine



P 1945. H. G. ALLE ZN 2,385,598

- BAG CLOSING MACHINE Filed June 25, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 25, 1945. ALLEN BAG CLOS ING MACHINE Filed June 23, 1943 4 Sheets-SheetZ lNVENTOR" I ji owa'r z QAZZQ Z BY W ATTORNEY Sept. 25, 1945. H. G. ALLEN BAG CLOSING MACHINE Filed June 25,

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR fiwa'r'ci 6. AZZeiZ ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 25, 1945 BAG c osmc MACHINE Howard G. Allen, Niagara Falls, N. Y., assignor to Consolidated Packaging Machinery Corporation, Buffalo, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 23, 1943, Serial No. 491,899

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for closing filled bags. More particularly it relates to a machine for automatically closing successively presented filled bags of the type which are normally made of paper and comprise one or more plies suitably creased during manufacture to define front and rear walls and gusseted side walls. These bags are normally purchased in flattened condition and with their gusseted side walls tucked inwardly between the flattened front and rear walls. The bags are opened by hand or by suitable automatic machinery and they are filled by automatic or manual operations. The cntents of the bags, that is to say, the material with which they are filled, serve largely to dictate the type of closure which may be automatically formed thereon in a commercially feasible manner. The quantity of contents, the size of the bag and trade customs also serve to dictate commercial closing technique.

For example, bags which are adapted to contain in the neighborhood of 100 pounds of material are usually manufactured with relatively wide front and rear walls and relatively narrow side walls. With bags of this size one of the most widely used forms of closure is the sewn seam.- Bags of this type are not adapted to stand upon their own bottoms inasmuch as they are quite long and narrow.

Smaller bags which contain anywhere from one pound to perhaps twenty-five pounds are generally more nearly square in cross-section. While this is a matter somewhat dictated by size it is also a matter dictated by trade customs in the merchandising of materials which are ordinarily packaged in these small quantities. For example, coffee is frequently packaged in one pound paper bags, and sugar is packaged in five and ten pound bags. These items are sold from retailers shelves and it is desirable that they stand on their own bottoms and present a neat appearance.

The present invention relates to the general type of bags which may be defined as small,

and the improvement made herein is directed to' 2,175,557 granted October 10, 1939, to Cundall et al. illustrates a machine which is admirably adapted for the formation of a tight closure upon a bag whose contents are of this type. In this patent the bags are of the small type, they are approximately square in cross-section, and their bottoms are so proportioned that they are capable of standing upon their own bottoms when filled. This particular machine is adapted to tents for sealing of the closure. U. S. Patent operate upon filled bags having their side walls tucked inwardly and their front and rear walls collapsed above the level of the contents whereby the mouth of each bag is flattened into a plane extending vertically above the level of the contents. The collapsed bag mouth is creased at predetermined levels and the creases are availed of to form a folded-over closure which is secured to the top or shoulder of the bag. The securing means is an adhesive which is first distributed upon the shoulder of the bag, after which the folded bag neck is folded along its base line into contact with the adhesive. The firmness of the contents of the bag is therefore availed of in the final pressing of the. closure into sealed relationship. The type of closure formed by this machine has found wide commercial acceptance because of its freedom from sifting, its simplicity of formation and the facility with which it may be opened by the consumer.

Certain other materials, of which granular sugar is an excellent example, have ample firmness, when settled, for the formation of a closure by a machine such as that shown in said Patent 2,175,557. However, sugar and materials of that type are subject to caking when packaged firmly by a machine such as that in said Patent 2,175,557. Experiment has demonstrated that it is much more desirable to package sugar in a somewhat loose condition whereby to permit shifting of the contents within the package during handling and shipping thereof. The occasional shifting thus permitted is usuallysufiicient to avoid caking of the contents. Even in those cases where the contents do become caked the looseness of the package permits breaking of the cake by simple manipulation. Thus there was developed a machine which is disclosed and claimed in U. 5. Patent 2,287,957 granted June 30, 1942, to Allen et al. This particular machine is adapted to form a closure very similar to that of Patent 2,175,557 except that the' collapsed and folded bag mouth is adhesively secured to itself rather than to the shoulder of the filled portion of the bag. Thus the closure does not bind the bag tightly about the contents and a certain amount of shifting of the contents is permitted.

Sugar is a material which may be compacted to substantially uniform volume by a reasonable amount of vibratory settling, and thus the amount of slack provided in the package may be calculated within fairly close limits. Certain other materials, however, are of such a nature that they cannot be compacted by known settling apparatus to a firmness necessary for operation of the machine in Patent 2,175,557 or to a volume sufficiently uniform for operation of the machine in Patent 2,287,957. These latter materials are usually very fine powders and a specific example thereof is an insecticidal dusting powder.

The present invention has for its principal object the provision of a closure-forming machine which is capable of forming tightly sealed substantially siftproof closures in rapid succession upon paper bag packages containing materials of the type last discussed. The packages formed by the. present machine are handled in very much I This extreme slackness requires that the bags have a potential capacity considerablygreater than any volume which their predetermined chargeof material may assume. When the necks of such bags are collapsed as discussed above it is obvious that they will be very much longer than the bag necks upon which the machines of Patents 2,175,557 and 2,287,957 are adapted to operate. Such extremely long necks extending vertically above the level of the contents would make the filled bags so unwieldy as to be exceedingly difiicult to handle. Obviously it is necessary for the closure-forming elements to operate at a predetermined level and it would be necessary to position these parts far above the level of the contents of the bags. This in turn would require that the collapsed bag necks be carefully guided and controlled whereby to bring proper portions thereof into operative engagement with the closing elements.

According to the present invention bag necks of such unusual length are handled-in an efiicient and simple manner. Mechanism is provided for forming a transverse tuck in the collapsed neck level of the contents of the bag. There is also 7.

provided mechanism 'for maintaining this tuck throughout the operations of forming the closure and this latter mechanism is also availed of to support portions of the bag neck whereby a tight to provide a machine which will form a filled paper bag into an extremely slack package in which the slackness results from an unsecured fold or tuck of bag material lying between the contents of the bag and the closure formed upon the mouth thereof.

aesauea bag into an extremely slack package having a.

tight closure formed by cooperating elements of the machine independently of the contents ofthe bag.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved form of drier mechanism adapted to operate upon bags having closures of the general type formed by the closing machine herein disclosed.

Other and further objects of the present invention will become apparent from a sonsideration of the following description of a preferred, but not necessarily the only, form of mechanism embodying the invention, together with the drawings forming a part of the present specification and the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a front elevation of an automatic ba closure-forming machine constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged partial transverse vertical section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, showing the creasing and trimming mechanism;

Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are diagrammatic views showing the various steps taken in folding applying adhesive and flattening the closure fold onto the adhesive surface;

Fig. 8 is a partial vertical section through the bag sealer and the bag drier and showing the bag clamp raised to receive a bag;

Fig. 9 is a similar view showing the bag clamp lowered to clamp the closure folds vof the bag;

Fig. 10 is a vertical section on line Ill-ell! of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a vertical section on line ll-ll of I M Fig. 9; r I I Fig. 12 is an enlarged transverse section through the bag clamp.

Referring to the drawirfgs in detail, the invention is illustrated as embodied in an automatic bag closing and sealing machine comprising closure-forming stations A, B, C and D and a drier E. The machine is'similar inmany details to those disclosedin Patent 2,094,061, granted September 28, 1937, to'R. N. Cu'ndall and Patent 2,175,557, granted October 10, 1939, to R. N. Cun dall. In the present machine as in the aforesaid patents there is provided a main drive shaft which carries cams operating through suitable linkages to actuate stations A, B, C and D. This main drive shaft may also be availed of to pro"- duce rotation of the drier E, The maindrive shaft and its operative connection with the stations have not been shown herein and reference is made to the aforesaid Cundall Patents 2,094,061 and'2,l75,557 for detailed description of suitable mechanism of this type.

There is. also included in the present machine a, conveyor which is substantially identical with that shown in Patent 2,175,557. This conveyer is only partially shown in the present disclosure 7 and in general it comprises a plurality of intermittently-operating'bag pushers one of which is shown at ill in Fig. 2 hereof. L'The pushers l0 project forwardly into the path of movement of the bags and then move longitudinally of the machine whereby to slide the bags along a supporting table l2. There is a pusher ID for each of the, stations, and each operates to move a bag into a 1 position to be engaged by a succeeding pusher. I

Thus a seriesof bag's may be moved in a stepwise manner from station to station. The pusher associated with the station D is availed of to discharge a closed bag from the station D to the drier E. Reference is here made to said Patent 2,175,557 for a detailed disclosure of the operation of-a conveyorsuitable for the present machine. For the purposes of the present disclosure it is sufficient to state that filled bags are moved from the right toward the left as viewed at Fig. l and that each bag rests in astatio'nary position within each station for so long a time as is necessary for simultaneous operation of all the stations. When operation is complete the bags are simultaneously progressed into appropriate succeeding stations.

In Fig. 1 there is shown a filled open-mouth 'bag 14 resting upon a support l6 which forms a substantial continuation of the table I2. The bag I4 may be projected into the station A by suitable mechanical means or by manual operation. As shown in Fig. 1 the bag l4 isfilled to a generally predetermined level indicated at l8 and it will be observed that an unusually long unfilled portion 20 of the bag extends above the,

level l8 of the contents. At this time the unfilled portion 20 will remain in a substantially open condition as a result of the previous operation of filling thereof.

When the bag I4 is moved into the station A the gusseted side walls thereof are tucked inwardly, and the front and rear walls are collapsed upon the intucked side walls by mechanism such as that shown in full detail in Patent 2,094,061, with particular reference to Figs. 9 through 12, thereof.

In general the station A includes oppositely disposed gusset tuckers (not shown) which im-, pinge the side walls of the bag after which a pair of plates, one of which is indicated at 22 in Fig. 1, swing toward one another to collapse the front and rear walls upon the intucked gusseted side walls. The operation of the station is to impart to the bag a conformation generally like that shown in Fig. 2 except that they collapsed mouth portion extends. vertically in a general planar condition. The details of station A form no part of the present invention, it being understood that any suitable form of means for tucking the gussets and collapsing the from; and rear walls may be adopted and it being further understood that these operations may be performed manually if so desired, thus eliminating the station A.

After the gussets have been tucked and the front and rear walls collapsed upon the gussets the bag is moved by an appropriate pusher 10 into the station B. Referring now to Fig. 2, a bag I4 is illustrated in solid lines within the station B after operation of the station is complete. The position of the bag and operating parts prior to operation of the station is illustrated in broken lines. The movable elements of the station 13 comprise a carriage 24 pivotally supported by parallel motion links 26 and 28 which are in turn pivoted upon a member 30 of the machine framework. The parallel motion link 28 is secured for rotation with a shaft 32 to which is also secured a lever 34. At the rear end of the lever 34 there is provided a pivot stud 36 upon which is pivotally attached the upper element 38 of a generally vertically extending link 38, 40. The lower element 40 of the link 38, 40 is arranged for engagement with a cam (not shown) rotated by the main drive shaft (not shown). The operation of the cam is such as to impart vertical motion to the link 38, in the same manner that similar links are moved in either of Patents 2,094,061 or 2,175,557. Vertical motion of the link 38, 40 will move the lever 34 and through the shaft 32 will move the parallel motion link 28 whereby to impart substantially horizontal motion to the carriage 24. Upward movement of the link 38. 40 will retract the carriage 24 to the position illustrated in broken lines and downward movement of tl'ie link will project the carriage forwardlykinto the position illustrated in full lines.

At its forward'end the carriage 24 carries a tucking blade 42 which is preferably of a width somewhat, greater than that of the front and rear walls of'thebag 14. In its forwardly projected position illustrated in full lines in Fig. 2 the blade 42 extends across the path of the bag neck whereas in its retracted position the forward edge of the blade 42 assumes the position indicatedat 44 in" broken lines. In this latter position the for ward edge of the blade 42 lies behind the path of the bag neck.

The station B includes a pair of generally par-, allel plates 46 and 48, the main portions of which are spaced from one another a'distance slightly greater than the thickness of a collapsed bag neck. The plates 46 and 48 are secured by suitable angle brackets 50 and 52 to the framework of the machine. Referring now to Fig. 1, it will be observed that the plate 46 extends through the width of the station B. Similarly, the rear plate 48 extends throughout the width of the station. At their inlet edges the plates 46 and 48 are flared, the flaring of the forward plate 46 being indicated at 54. The flared inlet edges are provided to facilitate entry of the collapsed bag mouth into the space between the plates 46 and 48 when the bags are moved from the station A 1 into the station B;

When a bag I4 is moved into the station E the collapsed upwardly extending neck enters between the flared edges of the plates 46 and 4B, and the bag is progressed to a position wherein the operation of the stationis to occur. At this juncture the parts shown in Fig. 2.; are in the position illustrated therein in ;,.broken lines. When the bag comes to rest the link 38, 40 moves downwardly to move the carriage 24 forwardly of the machine. Movement of the carriage brings the forward edge of the tucking blade 42 into engagement with the portion of the bag neck exposed beneath the plates 46v and 48. Continued forward motion of the blade 42 will displace the exposed portion of the bag-neck for wardly of the machine whereby to form a transverse tuck 43 in the neck. To assist in the formation of this tuckj there may be provided in a position forwardly of the bag a rod 56 one end of which is bent around and secured by nuts and bolt 58 upon a bracket 60 carried by the forward guide rail 62. Thus the bag neck i fric tioned between the rod 56 and plate 42. Upon forward motion of the blade 42 the bag neck is tucked beneath an overhanging plate 63 carried by the rail 62. The material entering into the tuck 43 is thus drawn downwardly from between the plates 46 and 4B. The collapsed bag neck is thus shortened from approximately the height indicated at 64 in broken lines to the height inward position until the bag I4 i moved out of this station for advancement into, station C. A

1 within the station. arm 74 brings the creasing dies into operation stations of the machine by action of the retain ing blade 68. The blade 68 is shown in section in each of Figures 3 through 7 and its general position is indicated in Figs. 1 and 8.

Station C is shown in Fig. 3. This station Patent 2,287,957, particularly in Figs. 3 and 4 thereof. In the present drawings a great many details of structure in the station- C have been omitted, and there is illustrated only sufllcient detail for an understanding of the operation of the station and the cooperation therewith of the retaining blade 68.

In station C the portion of the collapsed bag neck extending above the tuck 43 is subjected to a creasing and trimming operation preliminary to the formation of a closure. Thus the station includes a stationary creasing die 10. A pivoted arm 14 carries a movable creasing die 15 for cooperation with the stationary die 10. The arm "is pivoted at 80 and is arranged for swinging motion toward the stationary creasing die 10 through the action of a link 82 which is suitably I connected to the main shaft of the machine in a manner clearly disclosed in Patent 2,287,957. In operation the link 82 is moved to the right as viewed in Fig. 3 after the bag has come to rest The resultant swinging of to form a single transverse crease 12 in the bag neck.

It will be noted that the station C herein de- 1 scribed differs from the station shown in Figs. 3

and 4 of Patent 2,287,957 in that a single transverse crease is formed in the present case while in 2,287,957 an additional transverse cgease is formed. In this particular respect the station C 1 may be very similar to the station illustrated in of the .present machine bears a resemblance to r the station shown in Fig. 10 of Patent 2,175,557. j It is to be noted that the second transverse crease of Patent 2,287,957 is omitted in the present case only because it is unnecessary and that if so desired it may be formed and used in the formation of a closure.

Station C also includes a movable shear blade 13 and a'stationary shear blade 18 which may be substantially identical with the shear blades shown in Fig. 4 of Patent 2,287,957. As shown in greater detail in said patent the movable shearblade is carried by a carriage which is moved forwardly of the machine in operation of the station and the stationary shear blade is supported in any suitable manner upon the main frame.

The station C is further provided with a curved folding blade 84 which is movable in a curvilinear path.for the purpose of folding the lip portion of the collapsed bag neck along the crease 12 and over an elongated guide rail 86 into a position such as that illustrated in Fig. 4. Suitable mechanism for moving the curved folding blade 84 is disclosed in complete detail in Patent 2,287,957. This patent also shows the mounting and arrangement of a guide rail such as 86 herein.

From the above description of station C it will be apparent that the tuck 43 is held by the retaming blade 68 during the operation of creasing, trimming and folding of the lip of the bag neck. These operations have been carried out at .a level reasonably proximate to that of the main body of the bag, and the presence of the tuck in the bag neck provides for the extreme slackness essential to the present type of packaging.

After the lip of the bag l4 has assumed the position illustrated in Fig. 4 the bag progresses, past a glue-applying wheel 88 shown in'Fig. 5. The ba does not stop for this operation inasmuch as the glue wheel 88 is positioned intermediate the stations C and D. The glue wheel- 88 may be availed of to apply a band of adhesive on the upstanding portion of the bag neck as indicated at 90 and to apply a plug of adhesive 92 to the edges of the lip of the bag. Reference is here made to Patent 2,310,382 for a complete disclosure of a glue wheel such as the wheel 88 herein. The details of the glue wheel form no part of the present invention except that if it is used a much more secure and siftproof seal may be formed.

Continued motion of the bag 14 from the station C beyond the glue wheel 88 will bring the bag into station D wherein further adhesive is applied and wherein the final closure is formed. As pointed out above, the retaining blade 68 extends continuously through station'D and accordingly the tuck 43 will be preserved throughout the movement of the ba into this station as well as through the operation of the station and ejection of the bag therefrom. Except for the retaining blade 68 station D may be identical with the station illustrated in Patent 2,175,557, with particular reference to Figs. 9 and 20 through 23 thereof. In said Patent 2,175,557 a glue blade is projected over the shoulder of the bag and is brought down into contact therewith to apply adhesive to the surface of the shoulder. A folding shoe then moves transversely of the path of travel of the bag to fold the collapsed bag neck down into contact with the shoulder and the adhesive just positioned thereon. The action of the glue blade is such as to insure the initiation of the fold at the base line of the collapsedbag neck. In the present machine the glue blade and folding shoe work in exactly the same manner as the creasing parts in 2,175,557 except that the glue is applied to a portion of the bag neck resting in a generally horizontal position on the upper surface of the retaining blade 68. Thus the present machine is adapted to operate upon bags which are not tightly filled or which contain a material of such nature as not to offer sufiicient firmness for the operations contemplated in Pat after operation of the station has been initiated.

Thus it will be observed that a glue blade 94 has been projected into contact with the upper half of, the tuck 43. This portion of the tuck 43 lies in generally horizontal condition on the upper surface of the retaining blade 68, and since 'it is thus supported the glue blade 94 may be pressed downwardly into contact therewith for the purpose of spreading adhesive. A finger 96 is shown in contact with the lower portion of the lip and the function of this finger is to retain the lip within the fold formed by the nextstep of operation of the station. Also in Fig. 6 there is shown a folding shoe 98 ,having a channelm portion I within which is received the bag neck folded along the crease line I2 which has previously been formed by the station C.

As operation of station D continues the folding shoe 98 will move to the left approaching the position illustrated in Fig. 7. At the beginning of this movement the glue blade 94 and retaining finger 96 will remain in the positions shown in Fig. 6, and the glue blade thus insures the initiation of a fold along the base line between the folded bag neck and the portion thereof to which adhesive has been applied. At a proper time the glue blade 94 and retaining finger 96 are withdrawn and continued forward motion of the folding shoe 98 brings a horizontal portion I02 thereof into contact with the upper surface of the closure. Reference is here made to Patent 2,175,557 for a full, detailed disclosure of suitable mechanism for operation of the glue blade 94, retaining finger 96 and folding shoe 98 in proper timed relationship to secure formation of a tight closure. The specific details of the latter mechanism form no part of the present invention, it being necessary only that suitable closureforming means be'employed.

The closure formation is now complete and the bag is ready to be discharged from the station D into the drier E. Referring now to Fig. 8, a

- bag I4 is shown within the station D, and with the parts in the position illustrated the bag is ready to be moved out of the station D into the drier E. Thus the crease 72 is visible beneath the folding shoe 98, and the tuck 43 is visible extending across the forward edge of the retaining blade 66 and downwardly between the retaining blade and the rod 56. A member I04 of the frame of the machine carries in adjustable position a guide shoe' I06 having a curved inlet edge I08 extending in close proximity to to the folding shoe 98. Preferably the under horizontal surface of the guide shoe IDS is arranged at approximately the same level as the under horizontal surface of the folding shoe 98. Thus when an appropriate pusher I0 engages the bag I4 and moves it to the left as viewed'in Fig. 8

the closure formed by the station D will slide beneath the shoe I06 and be retained thereby in closed condition.

Continued movement of the bag under the influence' of a pusher II] will place it in the position illustrated in broken lines in Fig. 8 wherein the closure is confined between upper and lower gripping members indicated generally at I I0 and I I2, respectively. The gripping member H0 and H2 form a part of drier E.

Referring back to Fig. 1 the drier E comprises in general a base I I4 from which projects a vertical shaft II6. At its upper end the shaft II6 has fixed thereto for rotation therewith a wheellike structure which carries a large number of gripping units each of which comprises a pair of members such as the members I I0 and I I2 shown in Fig. 8. In operation the wheel is rotated a sufficient distance to bring a new set of grippers III] and H2 into alignment with the discharge point of station D upon each operation of the remaining stations of the machine. A sufficient number of gripping units is provided to permit the adhesive within the closure to et within the time necessary for the completion of substantially one entire revolution of the wheel. There is also provided a chute II8 into which the bags are successively dropped upon release of the grippers.

, the wheel body II8.

It will be understood that the chute I I8 is located as close as practicable to the discharge point of station D whereby substantially the entire amount of time required for a complete revolution of the drier E is available for drying of the adhesive.

In general the drier E is similar to that illustrated in Patent 2,175,557 with particular reference to Figs. 1 and 4 thereof. However, the gripping members, heretofore generally referred-to as H0 and H2, differ very materially from thebagholding means provided in said Patent 2,175,557 inasmuch as the closure formed by the present machine differ radically from that formed by the machine. shown in said patent. The novel gripping members herein disclosed form a part of the present invention and will be described in detail.

The portions of the drier E substantially identi. cal to that drier shown in Patent 2,175,557 include the wheel structure itself and the driving mechanism therefor. Furthermore, the drier E includes operating levers II4 which. are pivoted upon the wheel structure and which may be operated by cam and follower mechanism, not shown herein, which is identical with that of saidpatent. The levers II4 are quite similar to operating levers shown in said patent.

The levers II4 are each provided with a. rod I I6 loosely carried thereby which projects through the body II8 of the wheel structure. At their lower ends the rods II6 each carry a washer I20 adjustably supported by check nuts I22 threaded upon the rod II6. An expansive spring I24 is confined between each of the washers I20 and The force of each of the springs I24 is thus effective to draw the associated rod I I6 downwardly and to urge the associated lever I I4 downwardly into the position illustrated in Fig. 9, wherein the bag closure is gripped between the gripping member I I0 and H2. The cam and follower connections, referred to above, are operative at proper timed intervals to raise the levers II4 against the springs I24 to permit insertion of a bag closure therebetween and to permit removal of a bag when the drying opera tion is complete.

At their outer ends each of the levers I I4 pivotally support one of the gripping members IIO. Each of these members I I0 constitutes a shoe including a plate I26 having a flange I28 formed thereon. The plate I26 is of an area commensurate with the area of the folded closure formed upon a bag mouth and the flange I28 is so located as to assist in confining the closure in suitable position. As shown in Fig. 10, the flange I28 lies parallel with and in substantial contact with the crease 72 which defines one of the edges of the closure. The pivotal support for thegripping member III] comprises a shaft I30 extending crosswise of the box-like lever I I4. The member III] i thus free to swing about the axis of the shaft I30 in order that the plate I26 thereof may exert uniform pressure upon the bag closure.

When one of the pairs of gripping members III], II2 approaches the position in which it receives a bag from the station D the outer end of the upper gripping member I I0 passes beneath a cam I42 adjustably carried by a bracket I44 which is secured a by a bolt I46 to a portion of the main frame of the machine. The cam I42 i thus stationary with regard to the upper gripper H0. The purpose of this cam I42 is to level the upper gripping member I I0 just prior to the entry of the bag therebeneath. The cam I42 may be adjustably secured to the bracket I44 as drier.

by pivot bolt I48 and a clamping bolt I50 received within a curved slot I52 formed in the cam. By proper positioning of the cam I42 relative to the bracket I44 the leveling action thereof upon the upper gripping member IIO may be controlled.

Each of the lower gripping members, I I2 constitutes an anvil against which the floating upper member or shoe I I may press a bag closure during the drying operation. Thus each of the members generally indicated at II2 includes a spoke will be made to Fig. 12 it will be apparent that the major portion of the area of the anvil plate I34 lies to the right of a vertica1 plane passing I thus be effective to rotate the plate I34 about A torsion spring I40 is arranged upon the rod I36 in such a manner a to urge the anvil plate I34 into the horizontal position illustrated in full lines in Fig. 12. To this end, therefore, the force I of the torsion spring I40 is exerted in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 12.

Referring now to Fig. 8, it will be observed 3 that the anvil plate I34 which is closest to the 1 discharge point of station D extends into close proximity with the retaining blade 68. When 68 and accordingly the tuck 43 in the neck of a 6 bag I4 will slide off the retaining blade 68 and onto the surface of the anvil plate I34 when the bag is transferred from the station D into the drier E. It will be noted that the rod 56 terminates at the discharge end of station D, but referring to Fig. 1 it will be noted also that the table I2 extends beneath the drier wheel. Thus the body of the bag continues to be supported by the table I2 during its transfer into the drier. However, the lower reach of the tuck 43 is no longer supported by the rod 56.

After a bag I4 has been moved into the position illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 8 rotation of the drier wheel will actuate the cam and follower mechanism operative upon the lever II4 whereby to permit the lever to swing downwardly and to bring the shoe into clamping engagement with the bag closure supported upon the anvil plate I34. This latter position is illustrated in Fig. 9.

Continued rotation of the drier wheel will 1 sweep the.bag I4 off the table I2 and thereafter hers I I0, I I2 upon the drier wheel.

At a suitable point in the cycle of rotation of the drier the cam and follower mechanism discussed above will be operative to raise the lever II4 whereby to release the bag and permit it to I drop into the chute IIB.

It is at the time of such release of a bag that the pivotal mounting of the anvil plate I34 becomes important.

As pointed out above, the torsion spring I40 tends to hold the plate I34 in the horizontal position which it normally should assume for proper cooperation with the shoe plate I26 of the upper gripping member IIO.

If reference j this position is assumed the anvil plate I34 forms a substantial continuation of the retaining blade the axis of the rod I36 against the force of spring I40. The plate I34 will therefore assume a position approximately illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 12 at the instant of release of the grippers. The inclination of the plate to the horizontal at this instant has been found to be of decided advantage in assuring rapid and uniform discharge of the bags from the drier. It has been found that if the plate I34 is maintained in rigid horizontal position there is a decided tendency for the bag to continue to hang therefrom even after release of the upper gripper. This is probably caused by the inherent stiffness of paper and its tendency to remain in a position to which it has been creased or otherwise confined.

The operation of each of the stations has been fully set forth in connection with the detailed descriptions thereof. It is therefore not considered necessary to repeat the description of operation of the machine as a whole. From a consideration of the above detailed description it will be seen that the herein disclosed invention provides a novel machine for automatically closing and sealing the mouths of filled paper bags and particularly for forming tight closures on extremely slack filled bags. The machine includes novel mechanism for forming a tuck transversely of the bag mouth forthe purpose of taking up the slack and maintaining such slack in close control throughout operation of the machine. The novel mechanism further includes a retaining blade which maintains the tuck in controlled position while the bag travels through the various closing stations of the machine. The novel mechanism also includes an improved form of drier particularly adapted for operation upon bags having closures of the type formed by the machine herein. The drier is designed to facilitate entry of the bag thereinto and to insure smooth and reliable discharge of the bags therefrom. It is thus apparent that the machine herein disclosed attains the objects of the invention set forth above.

It is to be understood that certain modifications and variations may be resorted to by those skilled in the art within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine having a plurality of stations successively operable to form a closure upon a filled paper bag, a station operative upon a filled paper bag the side walls of Which have been tucked inwardly above the level of the contents and the front and rear walls of which have been collapsed upon said inwardly tucked side walls, said station including a movable tucking blade, stationary elements, means to move said tucking blade across the top of the bag and into contact with the collapsed mouth thereof along asaasos 7' a transverse line above the level of the contents,

the movement of said tucking blade displacing said collapsed bag mouth along said transverse line and said tucking blade and said stationary elements cooperating to form in said collapsed bag mouth a transverse tuck whereby to reduce 2. In a bag closin machine an operating station adapted to receive a filled bag having the unfilled mouth portion thereof collapsed into substantially a vertical plane, comprising guiding means for maintaining the collapsed mouth portion of the bag in substantially a vertical position, said guiding means. leaving a portion of said bag mouth adjacent the body of said bag exposed for operation thereon of tuck-forming means, and tuck-forming means including channel-deilning means located on-one side of said bag mouth, a movable tucking blade located on the opposite side of said bag mouth, and means to move said tucking blade into contact with the exposed portion of said bag mouth and to project a portion of said bag mouth into the channel defined by said channel-defining means to form therein a, tuck extending transversely of said bag mouth and extending laterally from the general vertical plane of the portion of said bag mouth extending above said tuck.

3. In a machine for forming a closure upon the collapsed upwardly extending unfilled mouth portion of a filled paper bag, the improvements which comprises a station for forming a tuck in the collapsed unfilled mouth portion of a filled paper bag beforethe formation of a closure thereon, and means for maintaining said tuck in said collapsed bag mouth after the bag leaves said tuck-forming station whereby a closure thereafter formed upon said bag mouth will be formed upon portions of said bag mouth extend ing above the tuck maintained therein.

4. In a bag closing machine adapted to form a closure upon the unfilled mouth portion of a filled bag having a station for tucking the side walls of said bag inwardly and for collapsing-the front and rear walls upon said intucked side walls, a station for creasing, trimming and folding said collapsed bag mouth and a station for applying adhesive to a portion of said bag mouth and folding another portion of said bag mouthinto contact with said adhesive, the improve-,.

ments which comprise a station operative upon the collapsed bag mouth prior to creasing, trimming and folding thereof to reduce the over-all height of said bag mouth, said station comprising means for forming a transverse tuck in a portion of said bag mouth below the portion thereof upon which a closure is to be formed; means extending through the remaining stations of said machine for maintaining said tuck while a closure is formed upon said bag mouth and means extendeluding channel-defining means located on one.

ing at least into thenext station of said machine for-maintaining in substantially a vertical plane the portion of said bag mouth in which a closure is to be formed.

5. In a bag closing machine having a plurality of stations ior'successively operating upon the collapsed upwardly extending unfilled mouth portion of a filled bag, a station to which a ba is brought with the mouth portion thereoi' collapsed and lying substantially within a generally vertical plane, said station preceding the closure-forming stations of saidmachine and comprising guiding means for maintaining said collapsed mouth in substantially vertical position, said guiding means leaving a portion of said bag mouth adjacent the 7 body of said bag exposedfor operationthereon'.

of tuck-forming means, tuck-forming means inside of said bag mouth, a movable tucking blade located on the opposite side of'said bag mouth and means to move said tucking blade into contact with the exposed portion of said bag mouth and to project a portionof said bag mouth into the channel defined by said channel-defining means'to form therein a tuck extending transversely of said bag mouth and extending laterally from the generally vertical plane of the portion of said bag mouth extending above said tuck;

and means within the succeeding stations of said machine for maintaining such tuck' in said bag mouth while a closure is formed thereon.

6. In a machine for forming a filled paper bag into an extremely slack package which includes means for tucking the gusseted side walls of the paper bag inwardly of the front and rear walls, and means for collapsing the front and rear walls upon the inwardly tucked side walls to form a flattened bag neck extending vertically in a plane substantially medially of the bag body, the combination of means for forming a transverse tuck in said bag neck, and means for forming a closure upon said bag neck above said tuck.

7. In a machine for closing filled bags having their side walls tucked inwardly and their front bag and extending vertically therefrom, means for displacing a portion of said bag neck within a transverse zone intermediate the level of the contents and the upper edge of said bag neck whereby to draw the upper edge of said bag neck downwardly into reasonable proximity with the level of the contents, means for maintaining in substantially a vertical plane the portion of said bag neck above said transverse zone, and means for forming a closure adjacent said upper edge.

HOWARD G. ALLEN. 

